Drinking Buddies
by Mrs. HopeEstheim
Summary: "You'd never catch up to me anyway!" was the boast that fell from her lips as she slammed her empty tankard down. Mira was instantly placing a fresh one beside her, and she lifted it again, this time in Laxus's direction, as she smirked and said, "But you can try." Romance, Humor, and just a bit of Hurt/Comfort.
1. Warmth

**THE FOLLOWING IS FROM A WEEK AND A HALF AGO WHEN I FIRST TYPED THIS: So I've watched a metric shit-ton of Fairy Tail in the last three days (From the Oracion Seis Arc to the middle of the Tenroujima Arc), which is funny because I never really liked the anime and just stuck to the manga, and have also re-read at least 15 of my old fanfics…and boom! I decided that a new Laxana from me is far past due.**

**Loosely inspired by my previous Laxana, **_**Purely Physical**_**. But only very loosely.**

**I hope you enjoy!**

**ALSO: I decided that this is going to be a 2-5 shot. The exact number of chapters is undecided.**

* * *

_Reinstated_.

As soon as Master Makarov and Laxus stepped out of his office that day, as Master Makarov announced that he was reinstating Laxus as a member of Fairy Tail unless there were any serious objections (not that he'd had any choice in the matter, since it had been one of Gildarts' only decisions in his few hours as guild master), the uproar was amazing. None of it was negative. It was a positive cacophony of whistles and cheers and even Fried and Bixlow's happy tears.

And Cana was the first to raise her tankard and shout, "I can drink to that!"

A cheer went up, and the rivers of alcohol began to flow. Wendy crinkled her delicate nose at the smell and contented herself to be as far away from the biggest part of the ruckus as possible, with Charle, Lucy and Levy at Gajeel's normal table. For the rest of the guild, it was quickly becoming as big an event as any. And Cana was at the center of it all, challenging member after member to drinking contests and watching them fall to her superior alcohol tolerance.

"Cana, don't you think you've had enough…?" Macao suggested tentatively, but she just laughed it off. The room was barely blurry, and wasn't even close to spinning, so of course she didn't have enough alcohol in her system! Although she wouldn't say that much out loud.

So instead, she said, "I'm perfectly fine! I bet I can still out-drink you, old man!"

That got him going, and Wakaba, too, as they were the same age, and another drinking battle began. She sometimes wondered at the fact that she hadn't learned her lesson from Bacchus...but that was months ago now and she was in the grasp of her booze now. Just a little bit more never hurt anyone or anything—except maybe her liver, but she was young and she'd get over this stage soon enough.

"Don't underestimate me," Macao's gravelly tone drew her attention once again, and in her haze she remembered that it was that very same voice that had drawn her to him before the S-Class Exams had placed him so far out of her reach. Wakaba then voiced his agreement with Macao as the fire mage said, "I've got age and experience on you, Cana!"

But she had youth and vitality, and with slightly more difficulty than some of the others, they, too, were down.

"Someone else come take a drink with me! Or a thousand!" she roared, laughing, as she sloshed a little bit of beer from her tankard. For a while she started to despair that her fun was over and that her precious booze was all that would be left of her night, but then a figure plopped down at the bar stool nearest where she perched on the bar. His blond hair still had confetti in it, but he had a fierce determination in his eyes that she'd rarely seen.

"Laxus!" the brunette laughed, "It doesn't even look like you've started celebrating yet, and it's all about you! Drink up!"

"It's never too late to start," he retorted, lifting a tankard that Mira had just given him, "but it seems like you have a head start."

Her laugh was incredulous.

"You'd never catch up to me anyway!" was the boast that fell from her lips as she slammed her empty tankard down. Mira was instantly placing a fresh one beside her, and she lifted it again, this time in Laxus's direction, as she smirked and said, "But you can _try_."

* * *

When her vision started to blur, she was amazed to find that Laxus was still conscious, and when her equilibrium went out of whack, she found him just barely tipsy. Somewhere in her drunken mind, she found a new respect for him because of his tolerance.

Sometime in the course of the evening the two of them were found sitting at a table with Gajeel and Natsu, drinking as a team against the dragonslayers. She was leaning against him quite happily, still drinking away, and his arm was draped across the bench behind her as he downed the last of his tankard. It was the sixteenth between them since they'd started going at it with the two dragonslayers, and now that Natsu was passed out on the table, Gajeel was struggling through their fourteenth tankard.

"Laxus! Laxus!" Cana was cheering, laughingly, as the blonde man chugged a fresh tankard. As he was doing this, she tipped hers back and tossed the empty vessel aside, reaching for the next.

At nineteen for Laxus and Cana and just fifteen for Natsu and Gajeel, the iron dragonslayer grunted and fell sideways into the fire dragonslayer. The first didn't stir from his unconsciousness, and Cana lifted her almost-empty tankard in victory.

The room was awhirl with light and sound and she hardly knew which direction she was going or what she was doing, other than the fact that she and Laxus were still drinking and neither one of them were down yet. She knew that a lot of what she said probably didn't make sense to anyone else anymore, unless they were as drunk as she was, but that was fine, because she had an accomplice, and it felt _great_ that she wasn't alone anymore.

Later, she and Laxus were leaning on each other as they walked—staggered—back up to the bar to get another tankard, but Mirajane of all people turned them away.

"I think you two have had enough," she said gently.

Cana protested incoherently for a while until she and Laxus assisted each other to another table, where just a passed out Visitar sprawled.

"Hey…" Laxus said after a very long silence during which Cana was mourning the lack of booze in her hand. "Wanna go to a bar?"

The brunette, still leaning against him, sat up quickly to grin at him. The motion made her dizzy and she slumped back against his broad chest. With a sigh, she decided to remain as she was while she answered him, "That sounds like a _fantastic_ idea, Laxus!"

And so, as Cana giggled, drunk beyond her normal threshold, Laxus helped her stagger over to where her purse was and she in turn helped him stagger over to where his nice, furry cape was. She couldn't help but remark on the fur, once they had stumbled outside together.

"It's so _soft_," she almost whispered, rubbing her cheek on it. She was still leaning on the person wearing it, so she didn't see anything wrong with it. "And it's so _fluffy!_"

The lightning dragonslayer (of sorts) chuckled and paused for a minute, almost causing the drunk card mage who was leaning on him to fall. She grumbled about it a little, but her attitude instantly changed when she realized that he was holding open his super furry coat to let her in. It was chilly out, she reasoned as she tucked herself closer to his side, plus this thing was just too fuzzy to resist.

_So fuzzy…_

* * *

Cana groaned.

She hadn't had a hangover this bad since the first time she'd ever gotten drunk. But oddly enough…she still felt really _good_ about it all. She rubbed her eyes, brushing the night's crust away, and considered trying to sleep more, but her mouth felt like rubber and she probably had breath that could kill. A yawn bubbled up then, and she stretched a little to go along with it—but only a little, since something was obstructing her movement.

This something groaned almost exactly like she had on first waking up, but with a deeper voice. Cana's heart froze for a moment, wondering what kind of shit she had gotten herself into. The last thing she clearly remembered was that she'd been hitting the bars with Laxus.

Now she was somewhere with some random stranger and she didn't even remember the night before. She kind of dreaded opening her eyes, but she knew she had to so she started to mentally prepare herself for the endeavor. She determined that, at the count of twenty-five, she would open them and be done with it. What she would find, she wasn't entirely sure, but part of her was terrified and the other part simply curious.

But she never got past eighteen.

"…Cana?" came a groggy, surprised voice, and stale alcohol breath washed across her face. Her eyes snapped open to find an expression that was as confused as she felt. His disheveled blonde hair fell across his forehead and she could tell his hangover was as bad as hers just with a glance. A few years of binge-drinking and you start to recognize the signs.

"Laxus?" she finally managed to move the giant furry slug in her mouth that most people call a tongue. It was heavy and didn't want to do what she told it to, so she wondered if she had slurred the _x_ and the _s _in his name.

Maybe it wasn't the right thought to have, but relief flooded her when she realized she wasn't with some random stranger from a bar. At least this was someone she knew, someone who knew her, and they could respect each other after this was all over. They were practically family, minus the blood relation part, so it shouldn't be awkward…or not for very long. She wasn't nearly as scared when she realized it was him, although she dreaded the exploration of the situation and what they might have done.

"Oh, Mavis," he murmured, rolling onto his back and taking most of their cover with him. She didn't recognize the room, but it had his smell _everywhere_ so they must have ended up at his place…somehow. After a pause, he asked, almost timidly, "How are you feeling?"

Cana thought her heart skipped a beat. He was actually asking that? It was actually really sweet, considering the possible circumstances, and since she hadn't dared to peek at what she was or wasn't wearing and didn't have the luxury of her sense of touch at the moment, she simply replied, "Hungover."

The answer had the desired effect, as Laxus snorted in amusement.

"No shit," he retorted, lifting his hand to lay it over his eyes from the light filtering through his curtains. "I don't think I've ever had a hangover this bad…"

Cana chuckled, which made her head pound even more than talking or listening to _him_ talk did, but she pushed the dull throbbing out by sheer force of will. It was still there, but she noticed it less than before as she put her focus into examining him. The sheets were tangled around his lower abdomen, and his torso was bare.

It was a _nice_ bare torso, though.

_Dammit, Cana, __**focus**_**, **she cursed herself mentally. She had to think about the implications of his bare chest. It could just be his natural state of sleepwear, or…_that_. But…she didn't really feel much different from yesterday, aside from the throbbing in her head, so she knew she'd have to assess her own situation before determining what may or may not have actually taken place. And so she readied herself this time to look down rather than to open her eyes by counting slowly in her head to five.

At five, she turned her gaze downward. The first thing she noticed was her bra firmly in position, though she was without the shirt she'd worn over it. The next thing she noticed was the fact that the sheets she _did_ have covered her knees and below, and what she saw of her legs were covered by the capris she had been wearing the day before.

_Now_ she could breathe easier. And complain at the chill creeping up on her.

"Hey, gimme some of the cover back," she demanded, though slightly teasingly. "I'm getting cold."

He grunted his assent and rolled back over, sliding his arm under the sheet and tossing it back over her as he did so. She shuffled around a bit under them, then snuggled down, and thanked him before looking back up at him. They were face to face, just a few inches apart, and somehow it wasn't awkward at all. Yes, they were both hungover, but they also both had fairly decent control over their mental faculties and yet…no awkwardness.

"You don't seem to have a problem with this," Laxus softly revealed what she had just been wondering at herself, and the fact that he was blunt was something she was always thankful for.

"Could be worse," she responded, rolling the shoulder she wasn't laying on to work out a kink. "I can leave now if you want me to, though."

His eyes fluttered closed as he drearily murmured, "Nah. It's warmer this way."

Her equally dreary, "Mhm…" faded of as they both slowly drifted back to sleep.

Maybe when they woke up next they'd have a different reaction, she mused as she floated away into her subconscious, but they would work that out then.

* * *

**Thanks so much for reading!**

**I had just a little more here…but I've moved it to a new document and decided that this will be a short story between 2 and 5 chapters long. Because Laxana needs the love and those like, three paragraphs didn't quite fit with the current mood of the story.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked this beginning, and stay tuned! I don't know how long it will take for the others to come out, considering that I **_**shouldn't be starting another story dammit**_** but oh, well. Wish me luck with my few metric shit-tons of homework and big projects coming up!**


	2. Comfortable

**The sudden decision that this should be a two or three shot _at least_ is a bad thing, I swear.**

* * *

When Cana next woke up, it was natural and slow and partially because of the light streaming in even through the curtained windows. When she blinked a few times to get the sleep out of her eyes and finally focused on what was in front of her, she found Laxus awake and watching her. When he noticed her gaze, he grinned the tiniest of grins. She couldn't help but return it softly, despite the circumstances that were slowly filing back to her from their brief conversation prior to sleeping more.

"Feeling better?" he asked her in a low, caring sort of voice.

"Much," she admitted truthfully stretching a bit. "How about you?"

He yawned right as he opened his mouth to answer, and then blinked as he indicated that he was better, too, and added, "I'm hungry now, though."

This was something that Cana could agree with—and she did so readily.

But neither of them moved.

Instead, Cana snuggled a little further into Laxus's larger bed, and he just kind of stretched and stared at the ceiling, unsuccessfully stifling another yawn. The brunette could smell the stale alcohol practically pouring off of both of them, and with some remorse realized that his sheets _really_ needed washed…and that she could use a shower, too. But moving was still not very appealing, so they remained in companionable silence, basking in the late morning—or early afternoon?—glow of sunlight that fell across them.

"Hey, Laxus?" she finally said, her voice muffled slightly because her mouth was half-buried in one of his pillows.

"Hmmm?"

"Why doesn't this feel more awkward?"

It wasn't really a question that she had wanted to ask, but she was perfectly comfortable being in his home, his _bed_, half naked (the fact that being half naked was her _usual_ attire notwithstanding), just recovering from the biggest drinking binge of her life so far, and she wanted to know _why_. _Why_ wasn't it unbearably awkward to be in the same room as him, when they had just slept side-by-side in the same bed?

Sleeping in the same bed was a lot different than sleeping in the same room, let alone the same building. And it was exceedingly different from everyone snoring away their exhaustion together in the guild, as was often the case after a large free-for-all.

But…there wasn't any feeling of awkwardness at all, and she had a feeling that that was why Laxus didn't yet have an answer for her. He was biting his lip, and she could tell he was deep in thought about her question, but from his expression she could see that he was having about as much luck coming up with an explanation as she was.

After a long silence, he finally said, "I really don't know."

He turned to look at her out of the corner of his eye, as she looked right back at him. She just shrugged in response and stretched again, rolling onto her back just as he had done a while before. His bed was comfortable almost any way you chose to rest, and she envied him for it.

And the two of them sat—or laid—in silence for a stretch of about seven or eight minutes, until the rumble of a stomach rent their companionable silence in two. And as Laxus's face took on a delicate shade of pink she'd never expected to see there, she had to roll with her back facing him while she laughed harder than she had laughed in a long time.

"Are you done laughing like a hyena?" he asked, grumpily, and just by his tone she imagined that he was almost pouting. It was enough to make her giggle a few more times before being able to compose herself.

"I was _not_ laughing like a hyena," she tried, indignantly, though she still couldn't face him. "But I am done. We should really get something to eat now."

"If you say so," he didn't sound impressed in the least. "I'll start some coffee. If you wanna take a shower, you're free to borrow something to wear and throw your clothes in the wash. Or you can leave, if you'd rather. It really doesn't matter."

_Not at this point, anyway_, she mused silently as she watched him sit up. Cana could see his muscles tighten beneath his skin and she was extremely thankful that his back was to her, because she stared for a few seconds, unabashedly, before rolling her shoulders and starting to fish around for the appropriate answer to his suggestion.

He had offered to let her shower, so she wasn't going to refuse that. And part of her was _dying_ to walk around _his_ house in _his_ clothes.

She noticed that as he faced the window, he winced and held a hand up to block the light. The sun must have been getting to him, and Cana made a mental note that when he had a hangover, he was sensitive to sources of light.

"A shower would be nice," she conceded, pitying him briefly. Her own hangovers were relatively short-lived, though she still had a slightly nauseous feeling that would go away after a few hours and a good meal. But she understood being light-sensitive, too, because as soon as she sat up and the full force of the light fell across her face, the throbbing in her head increased tenfold. She hadn't even noticed it before, but as soon as that accursed brightness hit…

"_I need heavier curtains_," she heard Laxus mutter in a voice she probably wasn't supposed to hear. The next thing that came out of his mouth, though, was clearly directed at her. He was standing at his dresser, and tossed her a few things. "Here are some clothes. They're mine, so they'll be too big on you, but they'll have to do for now."

Cana wondered then how she should bring up undergarments, but she caught that delicate shade of pink crossing his cheeks and thought that he must have come to the same conclusion. She looked down at the clothes in her hands, though, and found that there was a pair of boxers among the clothes in her arms. She felt the back of her neck tingling slightly.

"The, uh, boxers are brand new. They've never been worn. Just so you know."

It wasn't like the lightning dragonslayer to sound so nervous. It wasn't like him _at all_…but Cana found that side of Laxus much cuter than she should have. He was supposed to be _handsome_, wasn't he? Or…maybe she wasn't supposed to see him in that light in the first place.

The feelings were creeping up on her so slowly and gradually that she didn't even realize what they were yet. All she knew was that Laxus was too damn attractive for his own good, that she was feeling strangely excited to get to wear some of _his_ clothes around _his_ house (as she'd already pondered before), and that somehow, neither of them felt awkward about their current situation.

Well, the dragonslayer felt awkward about the boxers.

And the card mage found it adorable.

"Thanks," she finally managed to compose herself so that she wouldn't laugh. Cana had a feeling that Laxus wasn't used to being laughed at, especially about things like how his cheeks were dusted a light pink. "The bathroom…?"

The blonde man just gestured to a door, and the brunette thanked him again before slipping into the room. She leaned her back on the door as soon as she had closed it behind her, and started to giggle as silently as she could. After a few moments of that, she pushed herself away and stepped over to his tub to fiddle with the knobs and learn how his shower worked. When she had it turned on, letting it warm up, she rummaged in a cabinet under the sink and found a washcloth. A few seconds did the trick for the water, and soon enough she stood under the warm spray and sighed.

"A nice, hot shower is _just_ what you need after a night out," she mused aloud, running her fingers through her hair. Cana looked around then, suddenly conscious that she'd be using his soap and shampoo and so she needed to find it first. It wasn't her shower, and the placement of his bottles was almost the exact opposite of where she kept hers—and he had less than half of the number of bottles she did.

About ten minutes later, as she was rinsing the suds off her body and reveling in the scent he usually carried, she smelled bacon and her stomach gave a nauseous, hangover lurch of hunger.

_Laxus is cooking…_she realized slowly, and she giggled to herself. The mental image of the large, intimidating man in a frilly pink apron was too humorous to resist laughing at, and though the truth was probably far from it, she couldn't help but wish that was how he was currently dressed. It would be worth money to see.

Shaking the enticing and humorous thought from her head, Cana slipped over to the cabinet she'd found the washcloth in to pull out one of the towels she'd seen. She smiled knowingly when she saw the Fairy Tail emblem stitched in the bottom left corner—for all he'd done, he was completely loyal to the guild. And then wrapped she it around her body and looked at herself in the mirror. She wiped off enough to see her face, and was satisfied that it looked much better than when she had first entered the bathroom.

The smell of breakfast assaulted her even more fully when she stepped out of his bathroom in his overlarge shirt and just his boxers. The pants had refused any and all attempts to make them stay up, and the shirt on her came almost to the bottom of the boxers anyway, so it didn't honestly make all that much difference to her. He probably saw her in less on a daily basis anyway.

"How much is left?" she asked, using an ever-present hair tie to pull her unruly, wet locks back into a ponytail.

"It's about halfway done," he returned, and on looking around at her paused and stared for a moment. "Where are your pants?"

She didn't notice how strange the expression on his face was, or realize that there was kind of a strangled tone to his voice.

"_Your_ pants, you mean," she retorted, oblivious, "and they're still in the bathroom. They wouldn't stay up, so I just left them there." She took the spatula from his fingers and told him, "It's your shower, go use it. I'll finish up here."

After a few seconds of opening and closing his mouth, Laxus decided she was right, and conceded.

Cana went about cooking as she told him she would, after he pointed out that there was a cup of coffee for her right beside the coffee pot and disappeared into the bathroom. When the door was closed behind him and she was positive none of the food would burn, she tucked her nose down into the collar of his shirt and inhaled. It had been washed, of course, but the detergent was part of his scent, and it made her flush lightly.

She shouldn't be feeling this way—especially not when she didn't even feel awkward in his house.

If Cana Alberona was acting like a little schoolgirl with a crush, she should have felt extremely embarrassed about this entire situation and their curious circumstances, but she didn't care in the least. So the attraction rising to the occasion was out of place and felt misplaced…despite the fact that Laxus Dreyar was one damn sexy dragonslayer.

"Stop it," she scolded herself in a low voice, aware of Laxus's dragonslayer hearing, and proceeded to flip a few eggs. They were practically done now, and after letting them finish cooking she deposited them on the plate she assumed had been placed there for that very purpose. Cana then busied herself with flipping the hash browns and making sure they didn't get too brown on bottom. Without even realizing it, she started humming to herself, and she didn't notice when the door to the bathroom opened once more as she was setting the table.

Once the table had been set, the brunette card mage stood and surveyed her work with satisfaction, her hands on her hips. Her humming had died out, just as unnoticed as it had begun, and she wondered how long Laxus would take to finish his shower.

"That was the song from the last Fantasia parade…"

Cana shrieked in surprise, spinning around to face him and almost tripping when she tangled her feet together. The heat rose to her cheeks quickly at how easily he'd caught her off-guard, and at the girlish squeal she'd just uttered, but after staring at her in shock for a moment, the blonde male started laughing a deep, throaty laugh and she couldn't help but join in after her initial mortification had worn off.

And then the two sat down to breakfast, chatting amiably and fighting over the last strip of bacon.

Once breakfast was over, and Cana's clothes washed and dried, she slipped back into the bathroom and changed into them. And then, without any inelegant stuttering or beating-around-the-bush, she thanked him casually, and they parted ways. He was heading to the guild and she was going back to her house to change into something she _didn't_ wear yesterday before making her own appearance.

And things were back to normal as soon as she stepped back through the doors of Fairy Tail and called for the best barrel of beer in the place, and keep them coming.

* * *

**Here's the second of either three or five chapters! Sorry it's been so long, but this is NOT a priority, because **_**Fueling the Fire**_** and **_**Blood and Iron**_** and **_**Perpetual Rain**_** have been going on far too long and I need to get them close to the end soon. Haha. **

**Anyway, thank you guys for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! It was a lot of just filler-y fluff, but I'm trying to build up to the end.**


	3. Victory

**So…I decided since this was a relatively short story, and the chapters aren't too long or too hard to come up with, that I'd go ahead and take another step towards finishing it. So, here's chapter 3 of **_**Drinking Buddies**_**!**

**(And after I typed the above, I proceeded to have the hardest time writing this chapter…because how do I still make it interesting, and make them sound as drunk as they did in chapter one?)**

* * *

If anyone thought it was strange that, after Laxus's reinstatement to the guild and the marvelous drinking binge at the party (and after) with Cana, that Laxus drank more than ever, they hid it well. And if the thought that it was almost always _Laxus _instead of Bacchus now drinking with their resident alcoholic ever crossed their minds, they didn't remark on it. Although, since Fairy Tail was the guild in question, it was likely that no one found anything amiss at all.

But the truth of the matter was that it went on for several weeks—or months. At least once every other week, the two could be found laughing drunkenly together at the bar and asking Mira to keep 'em coming as their words slurred more and more and their actions became sluggish. But after that first night, they joked about going to bars rather than acting on the thought.

Perhaps waking up together—without any serious repercussions—had more awkwardness _after_ the actual situation than during it.

Cana laughed to herself as the light tingle in her head told her that her darling addiction was finally taking root again. She didn't know why she was thinking about her new and odd situation with Laxus—it wasn't like there was anything more to it than just a couple of buds going out for some drinks. She'd never had a drinking buddy as fun as Laxus was…though Bacchus was a very entertaining second. And she'd never realized that Laxus could put the stuff _away_—not like Bacchus, _never_ like Bacchus—but he could drink a lot more than she had ever dared credit him for.

The brunette let her brown eyes trail up to where he sat with his Raijinshuu Trio, and she caught him groaning at something Fried had said when the green-haired man wasn't looking. She smiled, turning away before she noticed him glance back down at her.

_He_ saw her smile as she turned away, and realized exactly what she must have been laughing at. A small sigh escaped, and his beady eyes turned to his ever-watchful followers to make sure they hadn't seen or heard. If they knew the cause of his strange mood, they would probably try to scare her away from him—or at least Fried would. That man hero-worshipped him, and Laxus had been over the fawning for a _long_ time. But if any of them heard, they didn't say anything, and the lightning dragonslayer lifted his glass of whiskey-on-the-rocks and took a sip. The burn going down reminded him of all the times that he and the card mage went drinking together over the past…what, three or four months?

It was Laxus this time that smiled to himself.

It went unnoticed as Cana called from the lower level, "Mira! Another!"

_Whatever that odd feeling was,_ she told herself, avoiding the truth, _it's gone now._

But deep, deep down, Cana knew that the _attraction_ would always be there. Laxus was the kind of man she could just keep looking at, for days on end, and never get tired of it. His soft blonde locks were always perfectly groomed, his sideburns just gave him bonus points, and every time she met his eyes her insides began to churn. And still she did her best to deny whatever it was, because it was _change_, and changing was something Cana Alberona _rarely_ did.

Just like losing drinking contests—that happened somewhere next to never.

So when Mira suggested a guild-wide drinking competition to celebrate Team Natsu's latest conquest—forgetting, of course, that three-quarters of their wages had been withheld to cover the property damages—Cana jumped right on the bandwagon. There was _no one_ in the guild that could beat her, and few that could keep up with her without causing themselves physical harm in the attempt. And she was looking forward to Laxus's participation, as it was practically mandatory for everyone that _wasn't_ Romeo, Wendy, Asuka, and the Exceeds.

However often the card mage told herself she _wouldn't_ look forward to battling it out with him in the consumption of the addiction that drew them together, she couldn't help feeling the excitement mount as the event drew nearer and nearer.

Without noticing, she kept glancing at the blonde and her face split in a brilliant grin that she rarely wore. She didn't know how he felt on the subject, but she had enough exuberance for the both of them...

…even though she _wasn't_ looking forward to drinking with him.

Not at all.

But after what seemed like _months_ of anticipation in only four days, the date of the competition had arrived, and Cana was raring to go. She hadn't had any alcohol in more than twenty-four hours because Mira had forbidden anyone drinking in the guild yesterday, to save up for the binge-drinking fest of tonight, so the resident alcoholic was more than ready for her fix. So she danced into the guild, ready to get straight into it.

"Ah, Cana, there you are!" Mira said from beside a board that was almost a replica of the request board. Cana noticed that there were two separate brackets listed, and she stepped closer to read that one of them was for _teams_ and the other was _singles. _The brunette blinked, caught unaware. She didn't realize that Mira was going to try to _organize _it.

"Here I am. Where's the booze?" she asked flippantly, beaming widely and doing her best to hide that she may be just a little more addicted than was healthy—but not just to the alcohol. Her eyes ghosted around for Laxus and finally found him at the bar with the usual group.

Mira just laughed. "All in good time! We've still got to decide who's in which bracket!"

The card mage couldn't suppress her groan as she flopped onto a bench across from Lucy, with a clear view past the girl's blonde head to the one she really wanted to see. She didn't know what had gotten into her, but he just seemed to get more and more attractive as the days went by. And suddenly, seized with an idea, she called to the eldest white-haired girl, "Just put me in both brackets. I don't care who ya pair me with, but they better be able to hold their alcohol!"

She missed the knowing flash in the Demon Mirajane's eyes as she grinned and said, "Okay, then! How about…yes, Laxus!"

She didn't give any room to argue, and Cana let out an unladylike bark of laughter as her eyes turned towards the dragonslayer in question. He just kind of smirked at her, shrugging a shoulder as if to say, 'what can you do?' about Mirajane, and then opened his mouth to say, "That works."

And then Cana had the thought of teaming up with that _sexy_ hunk of flesh on her mind while Mira spent the next almost agonizing hour plotting and planning and organizing the brackets as she saw fit. For once, the brunette didn't say anything or complain about the wait, because she was already in overdrive thinking about how much she and her teammate would be able to put back, together. And this way, she'd have the perfect excuse to lean on his shoulder when she was suitably tipsy, and to smell that familiar scent…almost like cedar?

"Okay, everyone!" she barely heard Mira begin to address the guild. "The Singles bracket will go first! I want…" she began rattling off who would go to what table for the first round, and Cana realized that Lucy and Levy and a few others had managed to escape the contest by becoming referees for the various sections of tables. When the card mage heard her name, though, she strutted over to her appointed table with confidence, noting that her first opponent was Nab.

"Let's get this show on the road!" the party animal in her roared as she pumped her fist in the air, and a raucous cheer rose up in the guild as the alcohol finally, _finally_, made an appearance.

Cana threw herself into the competition with nothing but that downing the amber liquids in mind. Or so she stubbornly tried to tell herself. Really, she couldn't wait to be tipsy, or for her vision to start blurring. She knew that she'd be to that point by the end of the Singles competition, so when she and Laxus started drinking together, it would be almost like his welcoming party those several months before.

Deep down, somewhere so deep that she wouldn't—or couldn't—even acknowledge that it existed, she wanted a repeat of the night after. The type of night where they both went barhopping and ended up in his bed at his place—or hers, she wasn't picky—the next morning, hungover but content.

And as the rivers of alcohol flowed through her, seemingly taking over her veins, she felt the effects start to take hold. But she could still walk, and the room wasn't spinning nearly as fast as she knew it could, and she still hadn't sat with Laxus for the teams yet, so she knew there wasn't nearly enough beer, or whiskey, or whatever in her system yet. So she raised her tankard, roared for her next opponent, and trashed them, one after another, until she reigned victorious in the Singles portion, a passed out Natsu somehow taking second from Macao in third, with Gajeel and Wakaba falling after them.

She barely even stumbled as she laughed boldly, raising her new golden tankard—already filled—above her head as she made her way over to Laxus.

"I'm not even _close_ to done, don't worry!" she remarked, winking roguishly at him as she flopped on the stool that Fried had vacated only temporarily. When he saw that she had taken his spot, he spluttered in annoyance, but a glare from Laxus (one that he hadn't even intended, honestly), unnoticed by Cana, sent him to sit on the other side of Bixlow, whom he was partnering in the Team portion of Mira's competition. Cana stuck her tongue out childishly at the green-haired man and leaned back on the countertop—it was, after all, too soon for her to lean against Laxus, no matter how badly she wanted to. She took a few large drinks from her tankard and sighed contentedly as Mira started to set up for the continuation of her little contest.

The room was spinning a little more than it had been earlier, but it was nothing she wasn't used to, and she was ready for more. She wanted her world to go topsy-turvy tonight, and as her mind was slowly addled by the steady buzz in her system, she was more than ready to admit—at least to herself—how she wanted this night to end: completely smashed, with no memory of what she'd done, and in bed with the man beside her.

She felt a slight heat rise in the back of her neck at the very thought, and she just laughed out loud, drawing a few curious stares, as she polished off what was left in her victory mug right as Mirajane started to give directions for the Teams portion.

First, she and Laxus were across from Gray and Loke—Loke? Wow. Gray must have asked him, just like he did for the S-Class exams way back when. Cana didn't particularly care. She just smirked and told them, "You'd better give me a run for your money, because I could take you without a partner!"

"Hey, I'm not here as decoration," Laxus scoffed, and as soon as they were told to start, he drained the first tankard in a matter of seconds. "I've got to catch up to her, anyway."

It was Cana's turn to laugh at the ludicrous idea that someone could _catch up_ to her, especially when she'd had such a head start! But she felt nostalgic as she raised her own tankard and offered a mock toast to her handsome blonde partner as she challenged, "You can try."

Even between the rounds, they didn't stop drinking. It had gotten to a point where Mira wasn't even trying to stop extra drinking anymore, just monitor the copious amounts that the participants downed while they were actually in their match. And so by the third round, the quarter-finals, Cana was leaning against Laxus and hadn't even realized she had started doing so. He was hardly tipsy, but he didn't care in the least. In fact, he let an arm drape across her shoulders and raised his tankard as he challenged their opponents to try to take them on.

The competition was making less and less sense to the brunette as more and more alcohol invaded her system. When they had to get up and change tables, she was leaning on Laxus. But by the end of the semifinals, where he had done most of the drinking because she was too busy cheering him on and leaning against him to unconsciously get a whiff of his _intoxicating_ scent, he was finally feeling it. He swayed the tiniest bit when they were walking to the table for the finals, and she felt like he was leaning on her, too.

"You better not let me down," Laxus nudged her, grinning widely. She could see the slight glaze in his bright eyes from the beer, and it made her giggle girlishly because, hey, she was further gone than she'd realized.

"Are you sure it's _me_ you need to worry about?" she shot back, probably slurring just a tiny bit, and he laughed, dropping his arm once more securely about her shoulders as they faced off against the somehow still conscious _trio_ of Gajeel, Natsu, and Gray. But hadn't they already beaten Gray once? And hadn't Gajeel and Natsu been unconscious at the end of the Singles portion? They all looked rather green, too, so the card mage and resident alcoholic began to dread that the last round would be disappointing for everyone. And so she decided to crank it up a notch. With a look at the three, Cana challenged, "I could drink all of you under the table, the way you look!"

That got Natsu angry and ready to go, which is just what she wanted. She'd be able to drink a lot more if he was angry and pushing himself to drink more, and she just couldn't wait. The room was still spinning, and everything was blurred around the edges just a little, but she wasn't nearly as drunk as she wanted—no, perhaps it was as she _needed_—to be for her hopes of the night to have any chance of succeeding.

Or maybe it was that sexy blonde seated next to her that needed more alcohol in _his_ system?

And then the final round commenced. She didn't know how, but within just five minutes, there was a cluster of thirty or so empty tankards, and both sides were still going. She wasn't sure how many they'd had, but she wasn't about to stop. The quick ingestion of so much of her favorite amber fluids was setting her down the perfect path to drunkenness. This was the closest she'd been since that first night she and Laxus had been drinking together, and it felt _amazing_.

"Keep it coming!" she roared boisterously, then broke down into a girlish giggle as Laxus slammed his empty tankard down in agreement. With a gulp and a sigh, he laughed and tucked his nose against the side of her neck as she reached for another tankard of her own. She felt the heat rise to her neck, but in her feverish state of mind she thought it was just the alcohol. It was also ticklish, and she grinned as she tilted her head back and downed the beer she'd grabbed. When she had finished, she mimicked his earlier action and slammed the empty vessel on the table, a wide grin across her cheeks. As he laughed, she prodded him and urged, "Your turn!" and then amended, "Oh, for Mavis's sake, let's both take one!"

"Great idea!" he murmured against her neck, brushing his lips lightly across her skin and laughing as he sluggishly lifted his head and reached for another one. Before she could do so, he handed her one, and with a laugh, they clinked the pewter mugs together and tilted them back.

She couldn't deny that Laxus had been doing most of the drinking in this match. She let him, enjoying watching him do _anything_, because _damn it all_. He was just too damn sexy to stop looking! She would know; she'd been watching him all night and wasn't getting tired of it at all. His right arm was draped across her shoulders still, and his thumb was rubbing tantalizingly tingling circles on her bare skin.

Cana still wasn't sure what he was doing to her, but she knew her attraction was waxing stronger with every circle his thumb drew on her shoulder.

"Look," she giggled, reaching for another as he dropped his head to nuzzle her neck again, "they lost Gajeel already!"

It was true. Gray was trying to shake the rather green looking iron dragonslayer awake, to no avail, as Natsu continued chugging on his current beer. Laxus's laugh rumbled, and his breath ghosted across her collarbone, making her giggle again. Her free hand, trapped behind him anyway, slid up to play with his hair—and it was oh-so _soft_. She slurred something akin to 'bottom's up!' as she tilted her new drink down her throat…and felt the burn the entire time.

As soon as it was done, she let out a loud sound somewhere between a sigh of relief and a whistle.

"You might want in on that, Laxus," she was _sure_ she'd slurred the x and s in his name this time, but she didn't really care too much, and it was obvious he wouldn't, either, because somehow, he'd caught up to her. "They've switched the beer out for _whiskey_."

Again, he laughed, but this time she felt the rumble of his chest reverberate through the shoulder touching him, and he pulled himself up again, reaching, almost eagerly, for a new drink. She had expected this reaction, because he could never stay away from the whiskey. "You're right; I _do_ want in on that!" with a wink at her, he raised the glass in mock salute, "It _is_ my favorite, after all."

Her hand fell from his hair, since she couldn't reach it at this angle, and found a comfortable place on the hip opposite her. While he was downing his tankard, he unconsciously pulled her closer and she reveled in the proximity. With an admittedly drunken fascination, she watched as his neck bulged when he swallowed and, giggling, buried her own nose at the junction of his neck and shoulder. She felt him shudder, and assumed it was from the empty drink slamming the table. It was a strange sensation, and it made her laugh once more. This coaxed another rumbling laugh from deep in Laxus's chest, and she sat up, beaming at him, to reach for more alcohol.

Just before the whiskey reached her lips, a larger hand covered hers and pulled her hand up. Flabbergasted, the brunette watched as Laxus drank half of her drink before releasing it with a smirk and nodding to her to finish it. Scowling half-heartedly but actually inwardly elated, she tilted the rest back with ease. When she slammed the empty tankard down, he rested his chin on her head, chuckling almost to himself.

"D-don't think I'll let you get away with that," she stumbled over her words, her tongue feeling abnormally large for her mouth. Cana still had a fairly intimidating look on her face, but he just laughed at her.

"Whatcha gonna do 'bout it?" he drawled, grinning widely as he pulled another towards himself and started to lift it. He raised an eyebrow in challenge and she let her lips form a determined pout as she reached up with her free hand and tugged his tankard down to _her_ level and proceeded to drink it all. She didn't even leave him half.

Cana smirked at his bemused expression and said, "Thanks for the drink, Laxus," in a mildly flirtatious manner.

But hey, the room was just a swirl of different colors and she could only see clearly three feet in front of her, at best, and leaning against the blonde dragonslayer was her only support. She was severely drunk, and she had the vague inkling that she probably wouldn't even _remember_ this in the morning.

And Laxus just laughed at her response, pulling her close for a sort of half-hug as he discarded that empty mug and reached for another, immediately starting to down it so she didn't get to it.

"Aaaaaaand Laxus and Cana are the winners!" Mirajane's voice suddenly broke into Cana's little world, and she frowned slightly. She hadn't even noticed that Gray and Natsu had finally both slumped to the table, against each other, in defeat. Laxus finished his drink and with finality, slammed the empty tankard down on the table in a victorious manner.

"Yes!" Cana cheered, punching her fist in the air and laughing a laugh that broke down into a giggle over a few moments. A loud, full laugh came from her partner, and she tucked herself firmly against him in a giant hug. She felt both of his arms encircle her to return it, and loved every second of it. "We won!" she emphasized, muffled, into his shoulder.

"I know," he returned.

"Here's the last drink of the night," Mira announced as she sat an extra large, golden tankard down in front of them. "It's to your victory! So both of you, drink up!"

The brunette card mage was _way_ too far gone to notice the mischievous glint in the white-haired woman's eyes when she saw how clingy and close the two drunks had been for most of the contest. And even if she had noticed, in her state she wouldn't have even considered the fact that Mira would have started this whole contest just to observe them…

Instead, she giggled and grabbed one of the two handles on the tankard that was more like a trophy, anyway, and Laxus grabbed the other. With a grin, he motioned for her to take her half first, and she obliged, downing what seemed like an entire normal sized drink before Laxus polished it off. And then, sharing a glance, they raised it above their heads and cheered. Laxus then let his lips press onto his curvaceous partner's forehead in a lingering kiss, and she just giggled girlishly for what seemed like the billionth time that night.

They didn't even realize that most of the guild was already—or still—passed out.

"Hey," she was giggling even more at what she was about to say, "hey, Laxus, let's go to a bar to celebrate!"

And with a grin to match, he agreed heartily.

* * *

**THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A LITTLE CONFUSING. Or something. **

**I don't know if they seem drunk or if it just seems like I can't write anymore. Haha.**

**Well, let me know what you think! I have an idea for what I think will be the next and last chapter in mind, so bear with me!**

**Thanks for reading, and I hope it was okay.**

**And also, sorry for repetitively using the word _tankard_. I just couldn't think of much else, and I was too lazy to look it up because I'm kinda tired.**


	4. Loneliness

**And now, since I've been updating some of my other stories, I've decided that it's time for the penultimate**** chapter of **_**Drinking Buddies**_**.**

* * *

After all the hype about going to a bar, the two found themselves just chatting, albeit drunkenly, while idly sipping on their drinks of choice.

It was abnormal, especially for Cana, to take her alcohol so…socially. But, at the same time, even in the midst of her drunken stupor, Fairy Tail's resident alcoholic decided that it was also _nice_. Especially, her addled thoughts allowed easily, since her companion had unparalleled looks. She let herself watch the way his mouth moved when he talked—everything else around them was blurry and it made her head ache to pay too much attention, or so she would tell herself later.

Cana knew her words were slurring, but so were his, and despite the fact that she might not remember much of this in the morning, she was thoroughly enjoying the conversation. She was learning more than she had ever known about him, and while she swayed in her seat and ended up leaning against him after only a few minutes, it was comfortable and he was amiable and she was captivated. In a few moments of silence, she even fancied herself to be more attracted to him than she'd already suspected—but no, she couldn't be, that was something only _Mirajane_ could cook up—and dismissed the thought.

They talked of jobs, of magic, of guilds, and even of the nastiest injuries they'd gotten while fulfilling requests. Cana bumbled through the story of how she found out who her father was, and why she'd joined Fairy Tail after her mother's death. She even mentioned that she had planned on leaving Fairy Tail if she didn't make S-Class on the fifth try, because she didn't feel worthy of being _the_ Gildarts's daughter if she couldn't even do that much.

Laxus talked about his own father. He talked about the lightning dragonslayer lachrima embedded in his body because of the power-hungry bastard, and about Ivan's own thirst for dominance. And for the first time in a long time, the blonde man talked about his childhood, and how he missed his mother's gentility and was thankful for his grandfather's presence. But his father…though he would always love the man on some level because he had been family, it didn't mean that Laxus couldn't hate him just as much.

Cana considered making a joke about their mutual Daddy Issues, but decided it wasn't the time.

As a few hours passed in that same slow and leisurely manner, they'd only ordered eight drinks between them and the buzz started wearing off. The card mage noted the furry feeling of her mouth and grimaced, but slowly the slurring was reduced to a minimum. They continued to talk, and at some point Cana realized that she would probably remember parts of this, even if she couldn't remember the beginning of the conversation.

When the bars finally closed around one in the morning, they made their way outside. Their arms were linked not so much for support, now, but for the camaraderie it brought with it. And as they made their way towards Fairy Hills because Laxus insisted on walking her back, they continued to talk.

And finally, against her better judgment, the brunette asked in a small, broken voice, "What made you try to take over?"

He didn't need any more details to understand her question, and a pained expression flitted across his features as he struggled with himself. She worried that she'd crossed the line, and that their tenuous friendship had just come to an abrupt end. She didn't want it, but she wouldn't blame him if he pulled away from her after asking. She expected Laxus to get angry, to yell at her, to ask why it mattered when he was back again…but he didn't.

Instead, the tall blonde heaved a heavy sigh, stopped walking, and closed his eyes. Cana started to slip her arm away, afraid that she'd upset him, but he wouldn't let her pull away. He trapped her arm against his side with his own and slowly opened his eyes.

"I started planning it a few years earlier, when I was fifteen," he started slowly, haltingly, and his eyes met hers imploringly, begging her to listen. "I was tired of being seen as the grandson of Master Makarov, and nothing else. I was sick of being compared to him, and always comparing myself to him. I couldn't accept that I would always be in his shadow, because I wanted to rise above everyone and be my own person. I realize now that I did the opposite of what should have been done, and instead of being compared to my grandfather, people started making comparisons to my father.

"I had become the last person I ever wanted to be…and I didn't realize that until it was too late. I had hurt my friends, my _real_ family, and I had only myself to blame. As I traveled, after my excommunication, I realized that I'd given in to the seeds of hatred that my father had left with me, before he disappeared to start Raven Tail. They had consumed me, until I couldn't think of Fairy Tail without hating it, and hating how I stood within my grandfather's shadow as long as I stayed there."

He stopped for a while, looking away and, Cana suspected, fighting the emotions waging war in his heart. Laxus was a big, strong guy, but he was a part of the wacky family of Fairy Tail, and everyone was sensitive to some degree. Even the lightning dragonslayer had to have a weakness, too.

"Laxus?" Cana prompted after some time.

"I started to hate myself," he very nearly whispered in response, and the card mage's eyes widened as he turned to look at her with the most tortured expression she'd ever seen him wear. It was worse even than the day his grandfather first cast him from the guild hall and told him not to return.

And she couldn't help it anymore.

Cana pulled her arm free, and before the blonde man could say a word she had wrapped her arms as tightly around his torso as she could, burying her face in his chest. She couldn't take looking at that face any longer, and she finally knew why she had been so happy the last few months, since they'd been drinking together. She saw it on his face, in the few moments she had been able to look him in the eye.

_Loneliness_.

She could tell now that he'd always felt it. Even when surrounded by his closest friends, he had felt so terribly lonely. Always in his grandfather's shadow, and always being compared to him, had been hard, and it had made him feel isolated and alone. And Cana wondered, briefly, if she would have been in the same situation had everyone known who her father was from the start. Would she have felt so overshadowed by Gildarts?

But…even without everyone else knowing he was her father, Cana had known, and it had made her heart ache. So maybe it didn't make any difference whether people knew whose shadow she stood in or not—maybe what mattered was how she had handled it.

"C-Cana?"

She felt his chest shudder, and she did her best not to cry as she told him, as confidently as she could muster, "You're not alone, Laxus. You never were."

And then she felt the big man start trembling, and his arms wrapped around her in return as he dropped his forehead to her shoulder. It was the most vulnerable thing he'd ever done, and it almost scared Cana to see it. When they stood at full height, she was about as tall as his shoulder, but when he stooped like this, her nose was even with his shoulder. The brunette had no idea what to do, so she settled for turning her head and tucking her face against his neck.

She didn't know how long they stood like that, but eventually, Laxus cleared his throat, stood to his full height, and said in a voice thick with emotion, "Let's get you home."

Without any protest, she let him take her arm and continue towards Fairy Hills in a silence thick with words unspoken.

* * *

**Well holy hell. This was supposed to be a lighthearted fic just for the fun of it, and then I started typing and **_**this**_** happened. I knew exactly how I wanted chapter 5, the final chapter, to go, so I just had to get through chapter four…without a plan. And this happened.**

**I'm not sure how I feel about it. Your thoughts?**

**Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!**


	5. Tension

**So, this chapter has been complete for about three weeks now. The reason I never posted it is simple: _THIS IS NO LONGER THE FINAL CHAPTER._**

**I told myself from the beginning that this story would only have 5 chapters, but then I got to chapter five and started writing...and then suddenly I was at 6500 words and still had more to go, so I split the final chapter into part 1 and part 2. I didn't want to post the first part without the second one completed, so since I'm posting this now it means that part 2 is done! I'm going to post it shortly.**

**So...onward! To _Drinking Buddies_, chapter 5.1!**

* * *

When Cana had finally managed to drag herself out of bed the morning after the drinking contest, it was about one in the afternoon. She rubbed her bleary eyes as a yawn passed her lips, and stretched with a groan. She could feel the kinks in her muscles, just like every night she went out and really hit the booze, so the achy feeling wasn't anything new. It was probably because of dancing at the contest, or something. Or a bar? The memories were admittedly hazy, so she shrugged them off around the same time that she shrugged out of her pajamas to climb into the shower.

The warmth of the shower always calmed her aches and pains, whether she climbed in after a mission or after some serious binge drinking. It also cleared her head so that she could sift through the vague memories she'd made the night before and deduce whether she had embarrassed herself or not. And as she started down the path to sorting through her recollections, it dawned on her that she recalled a lot more than normal because she'd actually allowed herself to partially sober up…while chatting amiably with Laxus.

A strange sort of heat bubbled in the pit of her stomach and rose to her cheeks, and she crouched down. The shower still ran, her long dark hair cascading around her and sticking to her skin, but she barely noticed.

"What am I thinking?" she murmured to herself instead, cupping her cheeks with both hands as the abominable flush continued to rise. She remembered a wistful smile that the dragonslayer had cast in her direction, not just once but several times, as well as the tortured expression that ripped her restraint to shreds. She slid fully to the floor of her shower, lost in thought.

For the first time, she'd glimpsed how broken one of Fairy Tail's strongest really was, and she wasn't quite sure how to handle it. The knowledge that someone like him could feel as lonely or broken as she had was comforting, but also a complete shock. She clenched a fist in front of her chest, as if she could clutch her aching heart by doing such a simple thing. And suddenly, the wall she'd maintained for so long came crashing down around her and a broken, garbled sob escaped. She moved her fisted hand to her mouth, trying to stifle the sound. She did so in vain.

She had been strong for him, when he had been vulnerable last night, but now she didn't have any strength left for herself.

At least she knew her father loved her now, and also that her mother had been the one woman he'd ever romantically loved despite the outrageous number of dates he'd been on. Laxus didn't have that. All he had was a power-hungry father that had forced a dragonslayer lachrima into a young boy's body in his greed. Whether Ivan had ever loved Laxus or his mother was something the blonde man might never know. And Cana knew that her tears now were for Laxus, and for _that_, rather than for herself.

But he had Makarov. The kindly master of Fairy Tail was his grandfather, and a very doting one at that. Laxus knew how much trouble he'd caused, and how much it pained the old man to excommunicate him all those years ago, but he also knew it was for his own good. It had helped him realize just what it was he had lost. What was lost can be found, and from their conversation last night Cana knew that he had finally regained the familial bonds he had always longed for. He had found out why the guild was his home at last, and the card mage was so happy for him that it hurt.

She knew how that felt. She could sympathize with him, and remembering how much pain she'd had to endure before she had found her place had pushed her emotions to the end of the line.

"S-stop it, Cana," she commanded herself after several long, drawn out minutes. The tears had slowed, and it felt like a weight had lifted from her chest. And though she might never admit it to anyone else, she felt so much better after getting it all out of her system. And now she knew how Laxus had managed to go on after the vulnerability he'd shown her the previous night, when she had mused at how he had stooped in order to use her shoulder.

And when the brunette finally left her bathroom, she continued on like nothing had happened despite the slight red circles under her eyes. The guild would assume it was just from drinking too much the night before, and she was fine with that. Even if _he_ suspected the truth, she would be fine.

* * *

Cana swilled the final dregs of her whisky in a circle, staring down into the amber liquid at the bottom of her glass. The slight buzz in her skull was mildly distracting, and she wondered if this is why most of her Fairy Tail family were amazed at her usual ability to put the alcohol away and still think moderately coherently. She'd never had so much trouble keeping her mind on track…but then again, she'd never sat down and actually tried to analyze the source of her own romantic feelings for someone else.

It had been several weeks since the drinking contest in which she had partnered Laxus and reigned victorious alongside him, and the brunette card mage was finally acknowledging the fact that she felt something for him. This was probably due to the fact that he and the Raijinshuu Trio had taken a two month job and had now been gone for half of it. She hadn't seen his face or had a drink with him in just over four weeks, and the old ache somewhere in her chest was back with a vengeance. She hadn't felt that ache since before she had told Gildartz she was his daughter.

Sighing, the voluptuous woman looked around her, noting the various other people lounging around the little bar she sometimes frequented outside of the guild. It was quieter than the guild, and there was undoubtedly fewer fights here than there ever were in Fairy Tail, so she sometimes came here to drink herself into a stupor and make poor decisions that her beloved family wouldn't hear about. But this time, she was just here to have a taste of alcohol and puzzle through her roiling emotions.

Sorting through her feelings had never been such a hard thing to do.

The card mage would have given anything to have someone she could talk to about this, but she didn't want to be teased. She knew her guild were good-natured hecklers, sure, but it had been so long since she'd been on the receiving end. In fact, it had been _years_ since she'd felt this kind of attraction towards anyone. She had spent several of them watching as Macao aged farther and farther beyond her reach—and then one day she woke up to find him suddenly seven years older than the last time she'd seen him. The rest of the guild had stopped teasing her about her crush then, and now Cana didn't think she knew how to handle this kind of pressure.

But _now_…this wasn't just an attraction towards a man because he embodied maturity and had a bit of a five o'clock shadow that she just melted for. The connection she'd found with the least likely suspect was one both rich in emotion and dripping with chemistry, physically and otherwise. She simply couldn't find the words to describe how much he seemed to embody her image of the perfect man, especially when she hadn't even known her own thoughts on her 'type' until just a few days ago, when she acknowledged that she was falling for him.

Another drink clunked down on the bar in front of her, and she picked it up without a thought, taking a quick swig and savoring the burn as it went down.

Drinking alone wasn't something she did often, but just then she couldn't help herself. She wanted to be alone, to think about this new feeling without Mirajane or some other equally observant member of her raucous family breathing down her neck. She had just figured out what it was to feel a genuine attachment to someone, and she didn't want to let them ruin it for her.

Cana loved all the members of Fairy Tail like family, but their noses didn't belong in her love life.

With a sigh, she downed the rest of her glass in one go and stood. The brunette tossed the appropriate amount of Jewels on the bar, nodded to the bartender, and headed towards the door as she swung her purse onto her shoulder. Admitting her feelings was a big step for one night, she decided, so it was time to go home, crash into her bed, maybe cover up, and sleep. She could go to the guild tomorrow and drink her usual copious amounts of beer and liquor, but not tonight.

* * *

A few days passed by, and as days turned into weeks, she rose each morning with the expectation of finding Laxus at the guild when she got there. And when she saw him, she expected him to be completely unharmed with his usual smug attitude practically radiating off of him. But weeks turned into a month, and one month into two, and she began to worry.

Cana remembered very clearly that the job was supposed to take two months, and only two. If that was the case, then why weren't the Raijinshuu Trio back with Laxus yet? It was nearly the end of the third month, and no one had heard anything from the four since about six weeks in. The brunette did her best not to let it get to her, because Laxus was one of the guild's strongest mages, but whenever she thought of him, her heart ached.

If this was what it felt like to fall for someone, she wasn't sure she wanted to find out what happened next.

"Another!" she roared to the bartender, and with a wary expression, the mousy man placed her seventeenth tankard in front of her. She wished she was at Fairy Tail, where her beer came by the barrel, but she didn't want to be disruptive in the eerily silent guild when she could always just lose herself and her capacity to think in another place that would inconvenience no one at the guild. And with that thought, she downed the frothy beverage in one go and again called for another.

She could still think, and her heart still had a dull, persistent ache, so she obviously hadn't had enough to drink.

And in this manner, almost nightly, another month came and went.

Each night, the card mage found herself going farther and farther, her intoxication levels ever on the rise. She rarely drank in the guild anymore because the guild reminded her of _him_—and yet she still went to the same bar they had been to the night that they had sat and talked and learned so much about each other. Somehow, that bar was her only solace, and it made her feel closer to him than she did at the guild.

"Why isn't he back?" she found herself drunkenly asking someone next to her. He had a vaguely human face, she thought, and sort of dark blonde hair—nothing like Laxus' bright yellow locks. She couldn't really tell any more distinct features, however, because she was more than halfway gone now and didn't even realize she'd asked him that question.

"Boyfriend leave you?" she heard the man ask, and she silently cursed the flush she felt crawling up the back of her neck.

"He'sh _not_ my boyfriend!" she tried to defend herself, frowning and looking pointedly away from her neighbor. "I'm jusht worried about him, ish all."

She thought he raised an eyebrow, but she couldn't quite tell until his slightly quizzical tone met her ears, "So…what does your boyfriend think about that? Worrying about another guy might make him jealous, you know."

Cana blinked, started blankly at her conversation partner, and started laughing.

"_What_ boyfriend?" she gasped out, wiping tears from her eyes. "I don't need one if he'sh gonna try'n bosh me around!"

"I can see that…"

Cana just patted the stranger on the shoulder, laughing, and downed her next tankard. She giggled as the room finally started to rock back and forth, and she knew she was going to be completely smashed by the time she came to tomorrow. At the moment, though, she couldn't bring herself to care.

After all, this was the only way she could keep her mind off of _him_ for very long.

And so the night wore on, and the alcohol kept flowing until she didn't really know up from down or left from right, and the man she'd talked to earlier in the night ended up being the person she leaned on when she went up to the bar for another drink. He reached forward to grab it for her, but when he made to hand it to her, a hand caught his wrist.

"What did you just put in that?" a deep voice asked him, and Cana thought that her companion might have looked offended. He opened his mouth and started to say that it had been nothing, but he cried out and the brunette assumed that the other guy had tightened his grip. He then repeated slowly, "What did you put in her drink?"

Belatedly, Cana noticed that another hand was on her shoulder and holding her steady. She had been pulled away from her new acquaintance by whoever was accosting him, and she was working hard to find the right emotion for that. Her thoughts were sluggish, and for once she was mildly annoyed that her beloved beverage was taking its toll. But she settled on mild irritation and turned to give a piece of her mind to this guy. And so she struggled to turn around, raised her hand and pointed at this newcomer and opened her mouth to lecture him…

…and no sound came out.

After a few seconds—maybe longer, with so much liquor in her system—she let out a choked laugh and fell forwards against him, burying her nose in the familiar furry cape as she slid her arms around his waist.

"You're late," she murmured, the sound muffled.

Laxus didn't reply to her, but his other arm came down to hold her close. Someone said something in a voice that was noticeably displeased, and she heard a glass shatter before footsteps stomped away. Something splattered against her ankle, but she didn't even care. Not when he was finally _here,_ finally back from that job.

"I think you've had enough to drink, Cana," the blonde said in his satisfyingly deep voice, and she just held him tighter. She had missed him so much that she had briefly and admittedly drunkenly been wondering if he was real or just her imagination, but there was no denying this familiar scent, or the majestic fur cape, or the tone of his voice when he had said her name. She didn't even protest when he started to guide her to the doors, dropping a few jewels on the counter. As they exited, he assured her, "I'll help get you home."

"You're _late_," she finally found her voice to speak again, and she ended up just repeating her first statement. Somehow, she felt so much more intoxicated than ever before and forming coherent statements around him had suddenly become the most difficult thing she had ever done.

"The terms of the job changed," he said simply, his arm firmly around her waist. She was a stumbling, bumbling drunk, though, and his arm kept her from falling—not that she would have minded anyway.

His answer didn't satisfy Cana, though, and the brunette dug her heels in. He picked up on her resistance quickly and stopped, unwilling to knock her over since her equilibrium was faulty at the moment. He looked inquisitively down at her, and she managed to place her hands firmly on her hips with her feet planted shoulder-width apart. Cana did all she could to look intimidating, but in her current state she didn't know if she made an imposing picture or not.

"You should have checked in, then," she said sternly, slurring, "so we wouldn't have had to worry sho much."

It was then that she recognized the bandages peeking from the top of his shirt, and those on his arms. Cana lurched forward and Laxus made to catch her as though she was falling, but she ignored his arms and tugged down on the collar of his shirt to look at the bandages. Even stretching his shirt down five inches didn't bring an end to the bandaging, and her brow furrowed in concern.

"What happened? Is this why you didn't check in?"

The knowledge that he was somewhat injured was oddly sobering, and she found herself regaining a little more control over herself. She didn't move from where she was, examining bandaged shoulder as she pulled his collar slightly to the side. The brunette couldn't tell if it had been bleeding recently or not because there was no blood on the bandages that she could see, and she wasn't pleased with not knowing.

"Yeah," he replied, grasping her wrist and pulling her hand away from his shirt, "things got complicated, our communication lacrima got broken, and we couldn't get back into a town for weeks. By that time, we just wanted to finish the job and come home."

Her wrist was hot where their skin was touching, but she tried to force that feeling away. He was _injured_ somewhere, and she wanted to know how bad it had been—or how bad it was. Her drunkenness was sliding away as if she'd never had that seventeenth beer or her twelfth shot, and she, for once, didn't care at all. She didn't _want_ to be intoxicated while talking to Laxus and trying to figure out what had happened to delay his team.

"How bad?" she asked softly, mentally cursing herself for the gentle tone. She was trying to be stern with him! "How bad are your injuries?"

"Nothing that won't heal with time," he said evasively. Cana narrowed her eyes and pulled her arm free from his grasp, reaching up to examine his shoulder again—and so help her, she'd rip his goddamn shirt if she had to!

But his hand grabbed hers and pulled it down, and he shook his head at her.

"It will heal," he emphasized his words, speaking slowly and deliberately. He squeezed her hand as he leaned down and rested his forehead on hers. "I promise that it will heal. I should be fully healed within the next month, so you don't have to worry anymore, Cana."

His breath ghosted across her chin as he spoke, and his proximity set her heart to racing, her mind reeling, and her face flushing. Despite the fact that he wasn't a 'true' dragonslayer in some senses of the word, she knew he had heightened senses, too, so her flush grew worse when it occurred to her that he probably heard her erratic heartbeat.

"You won't let me see them," she murmured, not meeting his eyes and instead choosing to examine a particular patch of fur in his cloak. "If you won't let me see how bad they are, I won't know whether to still be worried or not."

Her fingers curled around his in the hand that was still grasping hers, and she felt more vulnerable than she had in a long time. She could feel the burning in her eyes and she fought it back like there was no tomorrow. She didn't want him to see how fragile she actually was—not when she had been the strong one months ago as she watched him break down and comforted him. But fighting back her tears was hard, especially when she had been drinking copious amounts of alcohol, was relieved to see him alive, and was worried about how bad his injuries were. It didn't help that she had missed him more than she ever wanted to admit to missing _anyone_, even her father.

She looked up when his forehead pulled away from hers, and he grasped her hand tighter. He gently pulled her against him before releasing her hand and wrapping his arms protectively, comfortingly around her. Her face burned like never before and it only became harder to hold back her emotions.

"I wouldn't lie to you," he spoke softly in her ear and gave her a squeeze. "I'll be fine in a month or two, and then I can try to beat you in a drinking contest and fail and we can be even, okay?"

"But we were so worried," her voice was distinctly whiny, but she didn't even care anymore. "When none of you contacted us, or came back after the two months was over, we were so worried. And when more time just kept passing, we thought you might not come back. Everyone was worried, and I couldn't disturb them with my drinking so I came to that bar every night, and it still didn't help. It didn't help me find out if you would be home soon, or if you were even _alive_, and I think drinking actually made everything _worse_ and I didn't know what to do…"

The tears were welling up, but still she hadn't let them fall.

"I missed you," she whispered, so softly that she barely heard herself, but she felt his arms tighten around her and his chin rested atop her head. And finally, _finally_, Cana raised her arms to clutch the front of his shirt, buried her face in his chest, and let herself break.

She had cried alone in her room over her confusion and worry for him, but crying to him was an entirely new experience. She didn't remember ever crying to any guy she'd been attracted to—because tears make her ugly, she told herself, and those guys hadn't mattered anyway. But _Laxus_ was a different story. He knew her pain, and he knew her loneliness, so he probably knew what she was feeling because it was something he himself had felt before. And she knew, now more than ever, that she had fallen for him.

Laxus took a somewhat shaky breath as he hugged her tighter, and then he breathed quietly, "I missed you, too," and after a long silence, he took his chin from her head and added, "I'm sorry for worrying you."

She shook her head violently, not willing to lift her head. Her eyes were undoubtedly red and puffy, she definitely had tearstains on her cheeks, and her face, neck, and ears were burning. She didn't want him to apologize to her. She should be apologizing to _him_ for causing a scene and breaking down. She should be thanking him for helping her at the bar with the random guy she probably would have ended up going home with at the end of the night in a vain attempt to drown her sorrows and quash her worries.

But Laxus removed his arms, placing his hands on her shoulders and pushing her back a few inches, and she wasn't sure how to react. Part of her was heartbroken at the action, another part accepting, and overall she was just a bit confused. One hand fell from his shirt but the other continued grasping his shirt as if it was a lifeline.

"I'm sorry for—" she started to apologize, but one of his hands covered her mouth.

"You don't have anything to apologize for," he told her, slowly moving his hand when she had stopped trying to speak. With the pad of his thumb, he wiped away a few of her tears and she averted her gaze. She felt even more vulnerable now, standing in front of him with tears dripping unattractively down her reddened face.

"But I…" Cana began to protest, but Laxus shushed her. His hand was still on her cheek, and she knew he felt the heat.

"Cana," he spoke gently, and she looked up at him through teary eyes. Another tear began to fall and he lifted his other hand to her cheek, wiping it away so that he was cupping her face in his hands. "Cana…I'm sorry I didn't try to get in touch. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I-it's not a big deal," she tried to assure him, but her voice shook. "And you didn't hurt me, so you don't have to apologize for that."

Laxus let out a scoff and dropped his hands once more.

"I didn't hurt you? _Bullshit_, Cana. Have you looked at yourself?"

"I'm sorry I look like hell," she retorted, reaching up to poke him in the chest, trying to make light of the situation. "I've been drinking for _hours_ and didn't bother with makeup this morning."

The blonde grabbed her hand and held it to the side, giving Cana a serious look. That look let her know that he could see the bags under her eyes and perhaps he'd noticed she'd lost a little weight. Sometimes it had been hard to force the food down, not knowing if he would ever come back to her. But he was examining her so intently that she tried to pull her arm away, to no avail, and had no choice but to turn her head in defeat. Laxus had other plans, and he used his other hand to tilt her chin up so she couldn't look away.

"I did it to myself," Cana breathed, tears welling again. "It's not your fault."

He released her hand again and let go of her chin to place both hand firmly on her shoulders for the second time. She was stuck under his gaze and this time she knew she couldn't look away. If she did, he would just make her face him again, and she wasn't sure whether those few seconds of avoiding his penetrating stare would help her.

"Don't lie to me, Cana," Laxus took on a soft yet demanding tone. "This wouldn't have happened if we had checked in—if _I_ had checked in. It wouldn't have been this bad. Am I right?"

Cana didn't want to give him an answer because she thought her tears would be enough, but as the silence stretched she knew that he was expecting an answer. Was this where she was supposed to spill her heart out, about how she had started falling in love with him since that first night of binge drinking, when they had woken up in bed together, still clothed, and hadn't felt awkward at all? Was this the moment she was supposed to confess, and tell him that she was worried about him because she was so fucking in love with him that she didn't know how to handle it anymore?

"No," she settled on, "It wouldn't have been this bad if you had checked in."

He looked satisfied with the answer, even though she thought it was hurtful, and then spoke even more gently than any time before, "See? I did hurt you."

His forehead came to rest on hers again, and the proximity was torture. It was bad enough that she had wanted to kiss him when she had first seen him in the bar tonight, but in their interaction the desire had only been growing. She wanted to know what kissing him was like, and after being away from him for three months the feeling had only grown. Cana flushed darker, realizing that she wanted him so much more than she had acknowledged, and closed her eyes as she turned away from him. He stood straighter when her forehead disappeared from beneath his own and watched her carefully as the red blossomed across her cheeks.

When she looked back up at him, tentatively, with her eyes red-rimmed and glistening, she didn't understand what the emotions flashing through his eyes were, but she couldn't look away. She was too busy remembering all the moments they had spent together in the last few months. She remembered the way her feelings just grew stronger while he had been away these past three months, and she remembered the way they had grown closer before his mission.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts away and break eye contact, she searched for some reason to get away from him, at least for now so she could think straight, and finally decided to claim, "It's late and I've had a lot to drink, Laxus. I should probably get home now. We can talk more in the morning, when I'm more sober and after you've let everyone know you're fine."

She turned away from him to continue walking and he just stood there, watching her. He knew that she had already sobered up and that she was just running away from him, and if it wasn't for that man she had been near at the bar, he would have let her walk home by herself. As it was, Laxus remembered seeing that man drop something in the unsuspecting brunette's drink, then remembered how he had stormed out after Laxus had busted him.

He could be out here somewhere, waiting, and Laxus didn't want to take that chance with Cana.

So he caught up to her and told her, "I'll walk you back," in a tone that brooked no argument, and they spent the next few minutes in silence.

"Well, this is it," Cana stretched and yawned. "Thanks for walking me back, Laxus."

"Anytime," he responded, and before she could turn around and unlock her door, he had leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead. She stood there, flustered, for a few moments too long before she turned to fumble with her keys, praying that he couldn't see her blush in the light from the streetlights and the moon. She distinctly heard him chuckle as he bid her goodnight and she responded in kind with a stutter, entering her home as quickly as she could.

And when the door was closed behind her, she felt empty.

Cana's forehead was burning where his lips had touched her skin, and she could feel her face flushing, but she still felt empty. It didn't make any sense!

But it did make sense.

All Cana had been doing since he'd stepped in and stopped her from accepting another drink at the bar was running away—no, she'd been doing that since before he came back. The card mage had been running away from her feelings for him, from how much she missed him, by visiting that same bar every night. She had been running away from telling him for so long now that it made her feel so weary. But running after him now would be the wrong decision.

The brunette could feel the nauseous roiling in the pit of her stomach, and knew that she shouldn't go running to him if the first thing she was going to do was puke all over him.

Instead, she went straight to the shower in the hopes of calming her rising nausea and tried to think of other ways to tell him—somehow—that she was pretty much in love with him.

* * *

**And this was the REAL penultimate chapter of _Drinking Buddies_.**

**I really, really wanted to make them kiss in this chapter. THE TENSION BETWEEN THEM WAS SO INTENSE. But I resisted, because the idea for the REAL final chapter was starting to form.**


	6. Punishment

**I'm going to regret letting this become a sixth chapter...**

**But it was getting so long that I split it into two parts, so that means there was a bit more to this story than I thought. So here goes!**

* * *

When Cana entered the guild one morning just over a month later, she had a determined spring in her step. This was the day, and nothing would keep her from going through with her plan. This was the day that, for better or for worse, she would get her feelings across. There was a risk involved, though, because she had to challenge herself before she could ever get into something. It was the same thing with telling Gildartz he was her father—she had to win the right.

So this time, she was going to take him up on his offer. He had said that she could challenge him to a drinking contest when he was healed, and today was the day. Her twist, however, was that there had to be a punishment game of sorts afterwards. If she won, then he would undoubtedly know her feelings soon enough. Some people would argue that it wasn't a punishment, but if he didn't return her feelings, it might very well seem like one to him.

But her determination would not be broken.

Familiar faces surrounded her, but her eyes sought her blonde target and narrowed as she adjusted her path accordingly. He was sitting at the bar, which was becoming more of a habit for him, with just Fried, and he looked mildly annoyed. Cana decided that she didn't care if she was interrupting anything when she stepped up beside him and slammed her hand down on the counter in front of him. His eye twitched, and she suspected it was because the loud noise had hurt his super sensitive ears, but she just grinned cheekily at him.

"Yo," Cana greeted him, one hand on the counter still and the other on her hip. "It's about time we had that drinking contest you promised me, isn't it, Laxus?"

He raised an eyebrow questioningly, then seemed to remember and then chuckled, "You think you can win?"—he had to be bluffing, he was talking to the guild's own alcoholic, after all—"I've been practicing, you know."

Cana scoffed, "I can still beat ya!" she challenged. "In fact, let's make it a punishment game!"

His quizzical blonde brow remained raised.

"Go on."

"The loser is subject to one punishment of the winner's choice," the brunette smirked. "It's only one, and the stakes expire at the end of the day. If the winner hasn't decided the punishment or executed it by midnight, punishment rights go to the loser for just two hours. But I won't need to worry about that, since I already know what your punishment will be."

"Cocky," Laxus remarked, and Cana took the stool next to him with a boisterous laugh.

"I'm always confident where my best friend is concerned," she quipped in return, gesturing to the shelves of alcohol behind the bar. "See, he always helps me out when I'm in a pickle, and always lets me win the drinking contests."

Here, the dragonslayer rolled his eyes at her. "Don't start boasting," he warned, rolling his neck. "We haven't even started yet!"

There was a simultaneous _clunk_, and when Cana looked to the counter in front of her she saw two sloshing tankards of amber liquid and a terrifyingly excited Mirajane standing there. She must have overheard the entire thing, the card mage deduced, and being the resident matchmaker, Mira must have also already figured out why Cana was forcing a punishment game on Laxus. Only Mira could spot attraction like it was someone's hair color, and the brunette had always dreaded that.

"Looks like we're set to go," Cana chose to ignore the knowing looks that the white-haired woman was throwing their way as she was preparing tankards in bulk. Instead, she picked up the beer in front of her and held it up for a toast. "May the best drunk win."

Laxus reached for his tankard and nodded in acknowledgement, repeating, "May the best drunk win," as he responded to her toast. Simultaneously, the two tipped back their drinks and started chugging. Neither was willing to lose, but Cana had a feeling that she _needed_ to win this. She had devised the punishment game just for that purpose, and she wasn't ready to give it up just yet. Her feelings—or rather, her only shot at confessing—was on the line.

Sure, there were other times she could confess, other challenges she could assign herself, but this was the most important one. If she couldn't do it here, she might lose confidence.

* * *

"So, have you prepared yourself for your punishment?" Cana asked, giggling, as she tipped back her thirteenth tankard—or was it the fourteenth?—after about an hour. The morning seemed to drag, and while she felt like she was taking it slow, Laxus was doing the same thing. Mirajane was keeping a running tally and they were pretty evenly matched thus far, Cana couldn't help noticing, and she felt a brief flicker of trepidation.

And then Laxus downed his tankard and offered her a lopsided smirk that nearly made her choke.

_Unfair_, she thought to herself, chugging the rest of her new drink and reaching for another before it was even empty. That damn smirk of his would give him an advantage over her if he had realized just what it did to her! She already felt like she was at a disadvantage, and just the thought of being disadvantaged in a _drinking contest_ rubbed her in the wrong direction.

"I think you got the statement wrong," Laxus chuckled as she dove right for the next drink, berating herself for losing time. "What you meant to say was that you're preparing to receive my punishment, right?"

With an unladylike belch, Cana tossed her hair back over her shoulder and laughed, slamming the empty pint down. "As if you could beat me!"

Laxus just smirked again—_dammit,_ Cana thought with a silent groan as her stomach did some interesting acrobatics—and lifted his next drink at his own leisurely pace. She was waiting for him to reply, but instead he just started to chug and she had to forcefully pull her attention away from the bobbing of his Adam's apple with each swallow.

It was too early for her to be mesmerized by him. If she couldn't focus, her chance would slip away.

_Like hell it will!_ she thought furiously, slowing her pace again and trying to steady the amount she was drinking as Lisanna came up to add their most recent tallies to the board. This was the only chance she was giving herself for at least several months because it had taken all of her courage to settle on this course of action.

She was a member of Fairy Tail, and everyone there was brave…but for Cana, dealing with her emotions took three times the courage as facing down an enemy she knew she couldn't beat. It had taken her at least ten years to tell Gildartz that he was her father, after all, and that was only with Lucy's prodding because Cana had failed the last chance she'd given herself.

The brunette didn't intend to fail this chance, though.

Her tallies added up to seventeen now, she thought, and Laxus was still on fifteen, so she settled into the new pace she'd picked up, slightly slower than the three tankards she'd just guzzled down in a span of minutes, and fell back to playfully bantering with the blonde dragonslayer.

Maybe he didn't know just how much was on the line for her here, but that was fine.

* * *

Lunchtime had already passed by the time that Cana was really feeling the effects of the challenge. She and Laxus had been served a meal by Mira without even having to ask for one, which was always nice, and ate between sips of beer. It was nearly two in the afternoon, a new page had been started for tallies, and both contestants were still chugging, or leisurely sipping, or whatever it was they'd chosen to do for a while.

"I've figured out your punishment," Laxus broke a brief silence in their lighthearted, tipsy wordplay. "Are you ready for it?"

For the third or fourth time, Cana scoffed at the ludicrous notion that she could possibly _lose_ a drinking contest to anyone but Bacchus and replied, "You're the one that needs to prepare yourself. Ignoring the inevitable will only bring you down in the long run, Laxus."

He snorted, and she liked the way his eyes twinkled when he was happy—and tipsy, to boot.

She just liked _all_ of him _all_ the time, but that was a thought for when she was much further gone than she was right now, so she did her best to banish it.

It wouldn't work, but she would try.

"I wouldn't be so cocky, Cana," he retorted, slinging an arm around her shoulder and leaning closer in a conspiratorial manner, "Remember that you can never count your Exceeds before they hatch!"

She rolled her eyes at him, elbowing him lightly in the ribs but otherwise letting him stay in close proximity. He just laughed at her prod and lifted another drink. Cana had lost count, and she couldn't see the board from where she sat anymore, so she didn't even know who was ahead right now. Was it Laxus, or was it her? But who led now didn't matter, because the brunette was determined to win in the end.

"What happens if your contest doesn't end before the day's over?" Mira's voice cut in, and Cana pulled her attention out of the clouds to heed the white-haired woman. "Does that mean the winner gets until tomorrow night to give a punishment? You did say that it ended _when the day is over_, after all."

"That's ridiculous!" the card mage snorted. "If it doesn't end 'til morning, then the winner only gets until noon!"

"But noon isn't the end of a day," Laxus interjected. "That doesn't add up to how you described the rules."

"If we stay up all night drinking, do you honestly think you'll be able to call tomorrow a _day_?" she raised a quizzical eyebrow at him. She had forgotten how close he was, and it threw her off when she turned to find his face just barely a foot away. "We'd crash by noon and sleep until Thursday!"

"That still isn't the end of a day," Mirajane, always trying to bend rules so that they suited her schemes, "even if it's the end of _your_ day."

"I don't know, Mira," Laxus shrugged, "I think I'm going to have to agree with Cana. If I'm not going to see the rest of the day, I'm sure I'd say it ended at noon, too."

_One point, Laxus; zero points, Mira, _Cana thought, smirking. If he could avoid her clever tricks so easily, even tipsy, she'd have to pick up some tips. She'd never had to avoid them, and learning how to do it would have been such a learning curve without some help. But she had a smart mouth and a quick mind, when it wasn't addled by copious amounts of alcohol, and by taking some leaves from Laxus's book she thought she might stand a fighting chance against the matchmaking barmaid.

Mira, for her part, sighed disappointedly and continued preparing their drinks.

"Man, they're both over fifty already!" a voice whined, and Cana noticed money changing hands out of the corner of her eye, and realized that the culprit was Wakaba. "I didn't think they'd get that far."

"It's _Cana_," Macao said pointedly, "she can put back up to ten barrels a day if Mira lets her. And Laxus is twice your size, so he's probably got more tolerance than you could even dream of, old man."

"We're the same age!"

"I can still out-drink you!"

"Macao!" Cana raised her voice, garnering the attention of the older gentlemen, "If y'all are making bets on us, where's our cut?"

"Oh, no you don't!" Wakaba waggled a finger at her as Macao pocketed his winnings with due haste. "You bet on our drinking contests all the time, so it's our turn to get back at you for that! You won't get a penny of this, kid!"

"Well, I'll be sure to remember that next time you need a few jewels to buy another beer," the brunette smirked, turning around and downing her tankard. A new one slid in front of her within seconds and she pushed her empty one back across the bar. At the groan from the older man, she only lifted her new beverage to her lips and proceeded to drink, trying not to grin too much.

And so the next couple of hours wore on, and she proceeded past tipsy into drunk, and past drunk to damn near hammered, and still somehow, Laxus was keeping pace. A part of her, somewhere deep down, began to fear that she would actually lose this contest.

Not long after those fears began to surface, everything became fuzzy and unclear and she became progressively more distracted by the blonde man she sat with. They had transitioned from the bar to a booth near the back wall, where the seats had backs so they wouldn't cause themselves bodily harm if they fell, and night was falling. But now that they sat across from each other and not next to each other, she could see every expression he made and couldn't help but stare at his lips when he spoke to her or teased her.

"You should jusht give up," Cana slurred, trying to avoid her attraction to him.

"You jusht don't think you can beat me," Laxus quipped back, slurring almost as much as the card mage had.

Cana just laughed loudly, chugging her tankard and swaying in place.

The last thing she really saw was the way his Adam's apple bobbed as he chugged his own drink. He never took his eyes from hers and she was _mesmerized_.

* * *

Cana's head pounded as she opened her eyes. She raised her hand to her head and heard the sound of a glass being placed in front of her. That meant she was still at the guild, then. She must have just had a huge binge-drinking session and passed out, so Mira had left some water and some headache medicine for her. She did that more often than the brunette ever cared to admit.

She slowly sat up, ignoring the crick in her neck, and opened her eyes with caution. The lights here were dim and she was thankful, because even the lights from the middle of the room made her head throb. If it was that bright over here, she didn't think she'd be able to handle it. So she reached for the glass of water and the pills that Mira had left with a sigh. She downed them quickly and rolled her shoulders to relieve them of the tension.

And then she realized that she had been using someone's leg as a pillow.

The card mage's eyes widened and she turned, opening her mouth to apologize, or to thank whoever it was, when her voice caught in her throat. Those bright blue eyes twinkled back at her with withheld laughter, but that smirk was killing her.

"Wipe that shit-eating grin off your face," she groaned, dropping her head to the table—gently—as the day came back to her. And the reality of the situation was setting in.

Cana had lost her chance by losing the drinking contest, and in her vulnerable, hungover state, it was hard to fight back the tears. It had taken so much courage for her to finally decide how her confession would go, and she had ruined it all. She had been so _sure_ of herself, so confident, and now she just felt…empty.

"It's eleven-thirty," his deep voice sent shivers up her spine. "So I'd say it's about time for your punishment, isn't it?"

He'd sobered up just enough that he was no longer slurring, but she vaguely recognized the signs of drunkenness. As a close friend of the bottles and barrels behind the bar, the brunette recognized the signs.

_Pull yourself together, Cana_, she told herself vehemently. She sat up straight, looking Laxus right in the eyes and trying to ignore how damn attractive he was, and said, "Do your worst!"

Laughing, he leaned in with a mischievous look in his eyes and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Of course!" Cana huffed, looking the opposite direction to avoid his charms. "I said it was a punishment game, after all!"

"If you're sure," she could tell he was still leaning over closer to her by how his voice sounded. She noticed that his arm was across the seat behind her and his breath ghosted across her ear when he spoke, "then I guess it's time. Your punishment…is to kiss the person you like, whoever it is, by midnight."

The alcoholic thought her heart had stopped. Her head snapped and she met his gaze as he leaned away, smirking, and made to get up.

It wasn't the circumstance she had created, but this might be her last chance for a long time and she would be damned if she let it slip away. So she reached out and grabbed his sleeve to keep him from standing up. When he looked at her, quizzically, she took one final breath and then grabbed a fistful of shirt to yank him closer as she leaned in.

When she pulled away from the blonde dragonslayer, her face burning, Cana knew that there was no going back anymore. There was no way to make him believe that this kiss meant nothing to her, because she had already averted her gaze. The brunette found herself unable to meet his eyes as she mumbled, "There."

She should have let him stand, she realized belatedly, because then she could have made a run for it after she had acted. But instead, she was trapped by a wall, a table, the back of the booth, and the attractive blonde man she'd just kissed.

"Cana," the voice surprised her, and she looked up at him just in time to catch an expression that she couldn't quite place before a hand behind her neck pulled her forward again. Her breath hitched in her throat and her hand, which had only just let go of his shirt, was clutching the fabric once more as she leaned into the kiss that Laxus had initiated. His free hand fell to the small of her back, sending a shiver up her spine as he pulled her closer and deepened the kiss.

It was everything she had dreamed it would be and more than she had dared hope for, despite the fact that it tasted heavily of alcohol. Cana was overwhelmed by a feeling of bliss, and she didn't even care about what the other guild members thought of them. She just knew that she would be perfectly happy if this moment could last forever, because it just felt so _right_. And so she gripped his shirt even tighter and slid her free hand up into his hair. It was damp, probably from sweat, but it was still soft, and the guild's resident alcoholic really didn't care about anything other than Laxus at the moment.

She didn't know when their tongues had begun to dance together, but she honestly didn't give a _fuck_.

Laxus's kiss didn't end until they were both in dire need of air, and this time Cana was able to meet his eyes. She knew her cheeks were still flushed, or even more flushed now than they had been, but she held the dragonslayer's gaze with a confidence she didn't entirely feel. His ever-present smirk remained as he slowly took his hand from the back of her neck, running his fingers through her hair as he did so. Cana didn't want to stop playing with his hair but she let her hand slide down to his shoulder as she let go of his shirt and ran her palm across it to flatten the material.

Cana opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced by a quick kiss and she knew then that she didn't need to say anything.

Wolf-whistles broke through their bubble then, and Laxus grimaced, glancing towards the laughing fire dragonslayer. Lightning flickered across his knuckles briefly, but at just a light touch on his hand by Cana, it disappeared. With a new smirk in place, Laxus wordlessly slid from the booth and took the card mage's hand in his own, pulling her after him stumblingly. After swiping Cana's purse from Mira at the bar, they made their way out, ignoring everyone else.

"Laxus," Cana breathed, letting him pull her along, "Laxus, where are we going?"

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and then laughed, pausing to tug her into his arms and kiss her again, stealing her breath away. The twinkle in his eyes was back when he pulled back and continued down the street. The wolfish smile across his face and the wink that accompanied it made her stomach do flips.

"We're going to a bar!"

* * *

**So. If you think back to what happened the first time they went to a bar together, you'll understand why Laxus winked at her. **

**Anyway, unless I choose to make an epilogue, this is really the end. Thank all of you for reading and for dealing with my delayed updates! College has been hell on me, this year in particular, so thanks for your patience! It's been a fun ride, and I'm glad for those of you who read and reviewed throughout!**


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